La Plaza
History:
Three longstanding Indianapolis organizations - Hispanic Center, Hispanic Education Center, and Fiesta Indianapolis - merged to form La Plaza. The combined strengths and resources of La Plaza better serve the needs and tremendous growth of Indianapolis' Hispanic/Latino community. Together, La Plaza focuses on making Indianapolis a remarkable place to live and thrive by:
- Responding to the basic needs of the Hispanic/Latino community through health and social services,
- Developing productive citizens with economic development and its youth/adult education programs and,
- Embracing community inclusiveness through its arts and culture celebrations.
Mission:
The mission of La Plaza, Inc. is to serve, empower and integrate the Central Indiana Latino community.
Values:
La Plaza has developed a set of values to guide its development and service to the Latino community.1. We celebrate, preserve, and promote Latino culture and its value to the community.
2. We are culturally competent to deliver high quality, relevant programs with positive measurable outcomes in the service we provide: education, health and social services, arts and culture, and economic development.
3. We are responsible stewards of the resources entrusted to La Plaza.
4. We perform our work with integrity and the highest ethical standards.
5. We collaborate with other organizations and leverage the talents and expertise brought to La Plaza by our partners for the delivery of programs and services.
6. We are a forum that engenders trust and serves as a liaison between Latinos and the larger community.
7. We foster leadership among Latinos and encourage their full participation in the community.
8. We are a unifying voice for Latinos.
Identifying the Need
According to Census estimates, Hispanic/Latinos are growing in number and as a percent of the population. In fact, they are the fastest growing population in Marion County. Research indicates that Hispanic/Latino families are more likely to be under the poverty level (17 percent compared to 9 percent of the entire population). Many Hispanic/Latinos are immigrants (61 percent) and many have recently arrived (37 percent five years or less). Estimates of the percent who speak only Spanish range from 23 percent to 44 percent. According to the 2004 Census estimates, approximately 61 percent of the Hispanics/Latinos in Marion County are foreign born (not including people from Puerto Rico, who are citizens). Approximately 20 percent of these are naturalized U.S. citizens. Of the total foreign-born individuals, an estimated 37 percent entered the United States in 2000 or later. The most current estimate of place of origin of the Hispanic/Latino population—from the 2000 Census—while 68 percent of the Hispanic/Latinos in Marion County population are from Mexico, 6.4 percent are from Puerto Rico; 5.8 percent from Central America; 2.6 percent from South America; and 1.5 percent from Cuba.According to the 2000 Census, Hispanic/Latino families in Marion County are more likely to be under the poverty level (17 percent compared to 9 percent of the entire population). They are also more likely to have two parents in the household. Among all families with children under 18 and under the poverty level, only 16 percent consisted of married couple families, while among Hispanic/Latino families, 40 percent were married couple families. La Plaza focuses on four core areas: Education, Health and Social Services, Economic Development, and Arts and Culture. The issues identified in these core areas are as follows:§ Identified issues in Education include primary, secondary, and higher education as well as English language and literacy skills for adults.
§ Identified issues in Health and Social Services include discrimination, documentation, physical and mental issues, gangs, domestic violence, teen birth rates, and transportation.
§ Issues identified in Economic Development include employment in low-paying sectors, low rate or accessing government programs, and work related injuries and death rates.
§ Arts and culture are vital components of Hispanic/Latino life in central Indiana. It is through the arts that barriers between people can be broken down so they can achieve better understanding of each other.
La Plaza engaged the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to compile an initial overview of Hispanic/Latino needs in the Indianapolis area. This report is available by contacting La Plaza.